Tracking content across the internet

ABSTRACT

System, methods and articles of manufacture for tracking content across an Internet. An embodiment comprises receiving the content from a content source, wherein the content includes a unique content identifier, injecting the content into a content aggregation system, retrieving the unique content identifier from the content, analyzing the content based on the unique content identifier and data in the content aggregation system, and generating a report of the analyzed content.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/900,322, filed Oct. 7, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,499,073, issued Jul.30, 2013, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The field generally relates to the Internet.

2. Background Art

The emergence and development of computer networks and protocols,including the Internet and the World Wide Web (or simply “web” or‘Web”), has allowed many users to view and enjoy content served fromremote locations over the web. When content, such as news content ormedia content, is distributed across the Internet or the Web, thecontent is published and re-published by multiple content sources. Whenthe content contains popular, “hot” or interesting subject matter thecontent is likely to be republished by multiple content sources. Thecontent is also likely to be accessed by a greater number of people andfor a long period of time.

However, since numerous venues or content sources publish and republishcontent, conventional content providers cannot easily track theircontent across the Internet. Although content providers and publisherscan determine some content sources that have republished the contentusing a brute force approach of comparing the original text of thecontent with text published at different content sources, they cannoteasily or meaningfully track and analyze the content as it isrepublished by multiple content sources. Content providers further lackinsight into flow characteristics of content being spread across theInternet and cannot gauge the popularity of content across the Internetor the rate and timing of content publication carried out by othercontent sources.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention include a computer implemented method fortracking content across the Internet or the World Wide Web. The methodincludes receiving the content from a content source, wherein thecontent includes a unique content identifier, and injecting the contentinto a content aggregation system. The method further includesretrieving the unique content identifier from the content, analyzing thecontent based on the unique content identifier and data in the contentaggregation system, and generating a report of the analyzed content. Inanother embodiment, the content aggregation system may generate and usethe content fingerprint to analyze content.

Embodiments further include a system for tracking content across theInternet having a receiver, content aggregator, storage device, andcontent analyzer. The receiver is configured to receive content from acontent source and a predefined user criteria. The content includes aunique content identifier and is accessible to users using the Internet.The content aggregator is configured to aggregate content informationfrom the plurality of content sources. The storage device is configuredto store content and content source information. The content analyzer isconfigured to analyze the content information using the unique contentidentifier, the content source information and the predefined usercriteria. In another embodiment, the content aggregator is configured togenerate a content fingerprint from the content. The content analyzer isoperable to analyze the content information using the contentfingerprint. Finally, the report generator is configured to generate areport of the analyzed content.

In another embodiment, an article of manufacture including acomputer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, whenexecuted by a computing device, cause said computing device to performoperations for tracking content across the Internet.

Further embodiments, features, and advantages of the invention, as wellas the structure and operation of the various embodiments of theinvention are described in detail below with reference to accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a partof the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with the description, further serve to explain the principlesof the invention and to enable a person skilled in the relevant art tomake and use the invention.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary system environment 100 for content disseminationand tracking.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart 200 of a high level overview of the contentaggregation system aggregating, tracking and analyzing content generatedby multiple content sources.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart 300 of the content aggregation system aggregatingthe content.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart 400 of the content aggregation system analyzingthe content and generating a content tracking report.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are exemplary embodiments 500 of the content trackingreport.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary embodiment of a computer system 600 in whichembodiments of the invention may be implemented.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. In the drawings, generally, like reference numbers indicateidentical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, generally, theleft-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in whichthe reference number first appears.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawingsthat illustrate exemplary embodiments consistent with this invention.Other embodiments are possible, and modifications can be made to theembodiments within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, thedetailed description is not meant to limit the invention. Rather, thescope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

Content sources that publish on the Internet, such as media outlets,online news and magazine outlets, blogs, and others, generate millionsof articles that are collectively called media content or content. Aftercontent is published by an original content source, content is oftenrepublished by multiple content sources and website providers across theInternet. When content sources republish the content, individuals areable to obtain the content by accessing one or more of the contentsources. As the content is republished by multiple content sourcesacross the Internet a greater number of individuals are able to gainaccess to the content.

When content is republished by conventional content sources it isdifficult to track content. Essentially, to determine if two or morearticles include identical content, a word for word comparison betweenthe articles is made. Such comparison is slow, inefficient and complexwhen multiple sources republish the same content.

When the original content source inserts a unique content identifierinto the content information associated with the content it is possibleto easily track and analyze content as it is republished across theInternet. In an embodiment, a content fingerprint may be generated fromthe content or the content information, and can be used to track andanalyze content. For example, by using the unique content identifier orthe content fingerprint it is possible to determine how quickly contentsources republish the content, the number of individuals that haveaccessed the content at a particular content source and what key wordsare included in the content that makes the content interesting to theindividuals.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary operating environment 100 that disseminates andtracks content. Operating environment 100 includes various contentsources, such as a generic content source 110, an external contentsource 115, a web server 120 an internal content source 125, a webcrawler 130, a content aggregation system 135, users or individuals 170and a network 180.

Content server 110 disseminates content 105 via network 180. In anembodiment, content server 110 may be an original content source forcontent 105. In yet another embodiment, content server 110 may receivecontent 105 from another content source 110 and subsequently republishcontent 105.

In an embodiment, content server 110 may first send content to webserver 120. Web server 120 uses network 180 to deliver content 105 inform of web pages to individuals 170 or other content sources 110-125.In an embodiment, web server 120 uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)to deliver content 105 over the Internet. In another embodiment, contentserver 110 and web server 120 may be housed on the same computer machineor communicate via an internal or external network 180.

External content source 115 is a content source that is external to aprovider which hosts content aggregation system 135. In an embodiment,external content source may encompass a generic content source 110 andweb server 120.

Internal content source 125 is a content source that is internal to aprovider which hosts content aggregation system 135. In an embodiment,internal content source receives content 105 from one or more contentsources 110 or web servers 120 via network 180. When internal contentsource 125 receives content 105, internal content source 125 injectscontent 105 into a content aggregation system 135 as described herein.

For purposes of this patent application, generic content source 110encompasses generic properties of content sources 115-125. Therefore,unless specified otherwise, content source 110 describes all contentsources 115-125.

Each content source 110 publishes, disseminates and/or republishescontent 105. In an embodiment, content 105 is media content, whichincludes but is not limited to a news, magazine or current events webarticles. Content 105 includes also content information. Unlikeconventional content generated by conventional content sources, contentinformation associated with content 105 includes a unique contentidentifier (also called a unique content ID). The unique content ID isinserted into content 105 by content source 110 that is the originalsource of content 105. In an embodiment, unique content ID may beincluded in the content information that is provided as metadata.

The unique content ID uniquely identifies content 105 as it isrepublished by multiple content sources 110. The unique content IDremains with content 105 during its lifetime. Each time content source110 republishes content 105, the unique content ID does not change.

In an embodiment, content source 110 disseminates content 105 using anews feed. In an embodiment, the news feed uses the NewsML 1.2 standard.The NewsML 1.2 standard is an XML-based standard designed to provide astructural framework for multi-media news. A more detailed descriptionof the NewsML news feed may be found athttp://www.nitf.org/nitf-newsml.php.

Content 105 includes content information. In a non-limiting example,content information includes the content delivery date, content sourceidentification, body and title of content 105, and the unique contentID. In an embodiment, the XML-based elements of the NewsML feed containmetadata that includes content information. For example, NewsML maydescribe a portion of the content information as:

-   -   /NewsML/NewsItem: item that represents the document.    -   /Identification/NewsIdentifier: uniquely identifies the news        item.    -   /ProviderId: news wire agency identification (e.g.        ‘provider.com’).    -   /DateId: creation date.    -   /NewsItemId: identifies an article, should stay constant through        revisions.    -   /RevisionId: version number, starts at 1.    -   /PublicIdentifier: global unique identifier of the document.

In an embodiment, unique content ID may be stored in the /NewsItemId and/PublicIdentifier Tags of the NewsML standard. In another embodiment,the /PublicIdentifer Tag follows the URN format such as:

-   -   “urn:newsml:ProviderId:NewsItemId:RevisionId”

In an embodiment, the content information for content 105 is structuredin the NITF 3.4 standard. A person skilled in the art will appreciatethat the NITF standard is designed to structure news and news likecontent. Content sources 110 are operable to combine the NITF standardwith the NewsML standard to disseminate content 105.

For example, content 105 below may be described in the NewsML and NITFstandards as demonstrated below:

-   -   <NewsIdentifier>    -   <ProviderId>provider.com</ProviderId>    -   <DateId>20020715</DateId>    -   <NewsItemId>020715214600.i3o0xs0x</NewsItemId>    -   <RevisionId PreviousRevision=“0” Update=“N”>1</RevisionId>    -   <PublicIdentifier>urn:newsml:afp.com:20020715:020715214600.i        3o0xs0x:1</PublicIdentifier>    -   </NewsIdentifier>

Operating environment 100 also includes network 180. In an embodiment,network 180 is an interconnected system of computer networks, such asthe Internet, connected via TCP/IP. Network 180 may include multiplepublic and private networks that are linked by telephonic or opticaltechnologies. In another embodiment, network 180 is a local networkcomprising of internal content sources 125 and content aggregationsystem 135.

Web crawler 130 is a computer module that browses or “crawls” theInternet in an automated and methodical manner. Web crawler 130, beginsits “crawl” from a list of identifiable URLs or a URL list. When webcrawler 130 visits links in the URL list, web crawler 130 identifiershyperlinks in the visited URLs and adds those hyperlinks to the URLlist. Web crawler 130 continuously visits the URLs in the URL list andis able to identified new or revised content 105. A person skilled inthe art will appreciate that web crawler 130 is operable to identifyup-to-date content 105 disseminated by content sources 110. After webcrawler 130 identifies relevant content 105, content 105 is transmittedto content aggregation system 135. In an embodiment, content 105 is arelevant content when content 105 is published, republished or updatedby content source 110.

In an embodiment, web crawler 130 is housed as part of a computeraggregation system 135 or on a separate computer server.

Content aggregation system 135 receives, stores and analyzes content 105that it receives from content sources 110. Content aggregation system135 receives content 105 that was identified by web crawler 130. Contentaggregation system 135 includes a parser 140, a content aggregator 145,a database 150, a report generator 160, and a fingerprint generator 165.After content aggregation system 135 receives content 105, contentaggregation system 135 parsers, stores and analyzes the aggregatedcontent.

Parser 140 is operable to parse content 105 and retrieve the associatedcontent information and the unique content ID. After parser 140retrieves the content information, content aggregation system 135 passesthe content information to content aggregator 145. In an embodimentparser 140 is operable to parse content information transmitted asmetadata via NewsML and NITF standards.

Content aggregator 145 aggregates content information from content 105with content information from other instances of content 105 receivedfrom multiple content sources 110. Content aggregator 145 is operable touse the unique content ID to identify identical content 105 that waspublished and republished by content sources 110. In a non-limitingembodiment, content aggregator 145 may aggregate content information bycontent source 110 that originally published content 105. In anotherembodiment, content aggregator 145 may also aggregate content sources110 that republished content 105, the time that content 105 wasrepublished, the key words that are included in content 105, and othercontent information that may be included in the metadata associated withcontent 105. In another embodiment, content aggregator 145 may aggregatecontent 105 by viewership in a geographic area.

Database 150 is operable to store content information from content 105.Database 150 stores content 105 using the unique content ID. In anembodiment, database 150 is operable to store content information afterit is parsed by parser 140. In another embodiment content aggregationsystem 135 stores content information after it is aggregated by contentaggregator 145.

Report generator 160 generates a report based on the content informationstored in database 150. In an embodiment, report generator 160 generatesa report based on the criteria supplied by user 170. In an embodiment,user 170 may be internal to the provider that hosts content aggregationsystem 135. In yet another embodiment, user 170 may be external to theprovider and request the content report using network 180. In anotherembodiment, the provider requires the user 170 to subscribe to thecontent aggregation system 135 prior to being granted access to thecontent report.

Because database 150 stores content information for content 105 using aunique content ID, report generator 160 is operable to generate a reportthat tracks content 105 as it is published and republished by contentsources 110. In an embodiment, report generator 160 may determine thenumber of content sources 110 that republished content 105. In anotherembodiment, report generator 160 may determine how quickly contentsources 110 have republished content 105 after it was published byoriginal content source 110. In another embodiment, report generator 160may determine the viewership of content 105. In another embodiment,report generator 160 may determine the number of individuals 170 thathave accessed content 105 from a particular content source 110, from allcontent sources 110 or in a particular geographic area. In anotherembodiment, report generator 160 is operable to determine whether anexternal event increased the viewership of content 105.

In an embodiment, content aggregation system 135 includes a fingerprintgenerator 165. Fingerprint generator 165 is operable to generate acontent fingerprint of content 105. A person skilled in the art willappreciate that the content fingerprint may be used to identify andanalyze content 105 in content aggregation system 135.

Fingerprint generator 165 is operable to generate the contentfingerprint using different attributes associated with content 105. Inan embodiment, fingerprint generator 165 may use the content informationincluded in the metadata to generate the content fingerprint. In anotherembodiment, fingerprint generator 165 may use part or all of the textassociated with content 105 to generate the content fingerprint. In yetanother embodiment, fingerprint generator 165 may use the combination ofattributes described herein to generate the content fingerprint. Aperson skilled in the art will appreciate, that the embodiments hereinwere given by way of example and not limitation and that fingerprintgenerator 165 may use other ways to generate the content fingerprint.

Content Aggregation

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment 200 ofcontent aggregation system 135 aggregating and analyzing content 105across the Internet.

At step 210, content aggregation system 135 receives content 105 fromcontent sources 110. Content aggregation system 135 receives content 105that web crawler 130 identified as relevant content. In an embodiment,content 105 may be relevant content when content 105 was published bycontent source 110 and/or republished by content sources 110.

At step 220, content 105 is injected into content aggregation system135. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment 300 ofthe content injection process.

At step 310, content aggregation system 135 passes content 105 to parser140. Parser 140 retrieves content information associated with content105. In an embodiment, content information is included in the metadataassociated with content 105. In another embodiment, content 105 and theassociated metadata are received via a NewsML and NITF data feed format.

After parser 140 parses content 105 the flowchart proceeds to step 320.

Unlike conventional media content, content 105 includes a unique contentID. At step 320, content aggregation system 135 extracts the uniquecontent ID from content 105. A person skilled in the art will appreciatethat step 320 may be performed separately or in conjunction with step310.

In another embodiment, content aggregation system 135 uses thefingerprint generator to generate the content fingerprint for content105. As described herein, the content aggregation system 135 is operableto use the content fingerprint to identify and aggregate content 105.

At step 330, content aggregation system 135 passes the parsed content105 and the unique content ID to content aggregator 145. Contentaggregator 145 aggregates parsed content 105 by the unique content ID.In another embodiment content aggregator 145 aggregates the identicalcontent 105 received from multiple content sources 110. A person skilledin the art will appreciate that content 105 may be aggregate in manyways based on the unique content ID and other content informationincluded in content 105.

At step 340, content 105 is saved in database 150. In an embodiment,content 105 may be saved in database 150 prior to and/or after step 340.

Content Analysis and Tracking

Going back to FIG. 2, at step 230, content aggregation system 135 tracksand analyses content 105. Content aggregation system 135 retrievescontent 105 stored in database 150, analyzes content 105 according to acriteria defined by user 170, and generates a content report.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment 400 ofcontent aggregation system 135 analyzing aggregated content 105.

At step 410, content aggregation system 135 receives criteria foranalyzing content 105. In an embodiment, user 170 sends the criteria tocontent aggregation system 135. Based on the user criteria, contentaggregation system 135 analyzes content 105. In an embodiment, user 170may be an authorized user who subscribes to a provider that hostscontent aggregation system 135. In another embodiment, user 170 may usecontent aggregation system 135 via a local network. In yet anotherembodiment, user 170 may use the Internet to access content aggregationsystem 135.

In another embodiment, a software module is inserted into contentaggregation system 135. The software module is pre-programmed withcriteria for analyzing content 105.

Steps 420-460 are non limiting embodiments of the user criteria used toanalyze content 105. A person skilled in the art will appreciate thatsteps 420-460 may be performed out of order or in conjunction with eachother. At each step 420-460 content aggregation system 135 retrieves andanalyzes content 105 from database 150 and passes content 105 to reportgenerator 160.

In an embodiment, content sources 110 may be separated into contentsources that are internal to the provider hosting content aggregationsystem 135, such as content source 125. In another embodiment, contentsources 110 are external to the provider hosting content aggregationsystem 135, such as content sources 115. Steps 420-460 may be performedusing all content source 110, internal content sources 125 or externalcontent sources 115.

At step 420, content aggregation system 135 uses the unique content IDto determine the total number of content sources 110 that have beenpublished and republished content 105.

At step 430, content aggregation system 135 uses the unique content IDto identify the original content source 110. In another embodiment,content aggregation system 135 uses the unique content ID to determinethe content sources 110 that have republished content 105. Because theunique content ID remains constant during the lifetime of content 105,content aggregation system 135 matches the unique content ID to contentsources 110 that originally published and republished content 105.

At step 440, content aggregation system 135 uses the unique content IDto determine how quickly content sources 110 republished content 135.For example, after original content source 110 has published content105, multiple content sources 110 may republish content 105 in a matterof minutes, hours, days and weeks. When web crawler 130 continuouslyretrieves content 105 from content sources 110, content aggregationsystem 135 is operable to identify how quickly content 105 had spreadacross the Internet.

At step 450, content aggregation system 135 is operable to use theunique content ID to determine the viewership of content 105. Forexample, content aggregation system 135 is operable to determine thenumber of users 170 that viewed content at a particular content source110, at original content source 110, at content sources 110 that haverepublished content 105, at internal content sources 125 and at externalcontent sources 115. In an embodiment, content aggregation system 135 isoperable to compare similar contents 105 and determine the key wordsthat tend to increase the viewership of content 105. In anotherembodiment, content aggregation system 135 is operable to determine theviewership of the content 105 in a particular geographic area.

At step 460, content aggregation system 135 is operable to use theunique content ID to determine if an external event increased theviewership of content 105 by comparing the viewership before and afterthe occurrence of an external event.

Going back to FIG. 2, after content aggregation system 135 completesstep 240, report generator 160 uses the results of step 240 to generatea report. In an embodiment, a report may be in a graph or a tableformat. In another embodiment, the report may be displayed to user 170as a web page. In another embodiment, the report may be available onlyto subscribed users 170. In another embodiment, the report may begenerated only to users 170 who are associated with the provider hostingcontent aggregation system 135.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are graphs of exemplary embodiments of a content reportgenerated by report generator 160. In FIGS. 5A and 5B content 105 is anews article titled “North Korea Readiness for Rare Political Summit.”

In FIG. 5A the graph includes time on its x-axis and volume on itsy-axis. The graph tracks the article and its appearance in variouscontent sources, such as content source 1, content source 2 and contentsource 3. The graph also tracks the number of users that have logged onto view the article when it was published on content source 1, contentsource 2 and content source 3.

In FIG. 5B the graph shows content 105 that was viewed in severalgeographic areas. The graph includes an x-axis which demonstrates howthe viewership varied with time in each geographic area. The size of thedot illustrates the aggregate number of people who viewed content in aparticular geographic area at time t. Additionally, the content reportshows the first time content 105 was viewed in the geographic area.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example computer system 600 in which embodimentsof the present invention, or portions thereof, may by implemented ascomputer-readable code. For example, the components or modules of system100, may be implemented in one or more computer systems 600 usinghardware, software, firmware, tangible computer readable media havinginstructions stored thereon, or a combination thereof and may beimplemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems.Hardware, software, or any combination of such may embody any of themodules and components in FIGS. 1-4.

If programmable logic is used, such logic may execute on a commerciallyavailable processing platform or a special purpose device. One ofordinary skill in the art may appreciate that embodiments of thedisclosed subject matter can be practiced with various computer systemconfigurations, including multi-core multiprocessor systems,minicomputers, mainframe computers, computers linked or clustered withdistributed functions, as well as pervasive or miniature computers thatmay be embedded into virtually any device.

For instance, a computing device having at least one processor deviceand a memory may be used to implement the above described embodiments. Aprocessor device may be a single processor, a plurality of processors,or combinations thereof. Processor devices may have one or moreprocessor “cores.”

Various embodiments of the invention are described in terms of thisexample computer system 600. After reading this description, it willbecome apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implementthe invention using other computer systems and/or computerarchitectures. Although operations may be described as a sequentialprocess, some of the operations may in fact be performed in parallel,concurrently, and/or in a distributed environment, and with program codestored locally or remotely for access by single or multi-processormachines. In addition, in some embodiments the order of operations maybe rearranged without departing from the spirit of the disclosed subjectmatter.

Processor device 604 may be a special purpose or a general purposeprocessor device. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in therelevant art, processor device 104 may also be a single processor in amulti-core/multiprocessor system, such system operating alone, or in acluster of computing devices operating in a cluster or server farm.Processor device 604 is connected to a communication infrastructure 606,for example, a bus, message queue, network, or multi-coremessage-passing scheme.

Computer system 600 also includes a main memory 608, for example, randomaccess memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 610.Secondary memory 610 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 612,removable storage drive 614. Removable storage drive 614 may comprise afloppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, a flashmemory, or the like. The removable storage drive 614 reads from and/orwrites to a removable storage unit 618 in a well known manner. Removablestorage unit 618 may comprise a floppy disk, magnetic tape, opticaldisk, etc. which is read by and written to by removable storage drive614. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the relevant art,removable storage unit 618 includes a computer usable storage mediumhaving stored therein computer software and/or data.

In alternative implementations, secondary memory 610 may include othersimilar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into computer system 600. Such means may include, for example, aremovable storage unit 622 and an interface 620. Examples of such meansmay include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as thatfound in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM,or PROM) and associated socket, and other removable storage units 622and interfaces 620 which allow software and data to be transferred fromthe removable storage unit 622 to computer system 600.

Computer system 600 may also include a communications interface 624.Communications interface 624 allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system 600 and external devices. Communicationsinterface 624 may include a modem, a network interface (such as anEthernet card), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, or thelike. Software and data transferred via communications interface 624 maybe in the form of signals, which may be electronic, electromagnetic,optical, or other signals capable of being received by communicationsinterface 624. These signals may be provided to communications interface624 via a communications path 626. Communications path 626 carriessignals and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, aphone line, a cellular phone link, an RF link or other communicationschannels.

In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computerusable medium” are used to generally refer to media such as removablestorage unit 618, removable storage unit 622, and a hard disk installedin hard disk drive 612. Computer program medium and computer usablemedium may also refer to memories, such as main memory 608 and secondarymemory 610, which may be memory semiconductors (e.g. DRAMs, etc.).

Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are stored inmain memory 608 and/or secondary memory 610. Computer programs may alsobe received via communications interface 624. Such computer programs,when executed, enable computer system 600 to implement the presentinvention as discussed herein. In particular, the computer programs,when executed, enable processor device 604 to implement the processes ofthe present invention, such as the stages in the method illustrated byflowcharts 200 of FIG. 2, 300 of FIGS. 3 and 400 of FIG. 4 discussedabove. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of thecomputer system 600. Where the invention is implemented using software,the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded intocomputer system 600 using removable storage drive 614, interface 620,and hard disk drive 612, or communications interface 624.

Embodiments of the invention also may be directed to computer programproducts comprising software stored on any computer useable medium. Suchsoftware, when executed in one or more data processing device, causes adata processing device(s) to operate as described herein. Embodiments ofthe invention employ any computer useable or readable medium. Examplesof computer useable mediums include, but are not limited to, primarystorage devices (e.g., any type of random access memory), secondarystorage devices (e.g., hard drives, floppy disks, CD ROMS, ZIP disks,tapes, magnetic storage devices, and optical storage devices, MEMS,nanotechnological storage device, etc.).

The embodiments have been described above with the aid of functionalbuilding blocks illustrating the implementation of specified functionsand relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functional buildingblocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of thedescription. Alternate boundaries can be defined so long as thespecified functions and relationships thereof are appropriatelyperformed.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fullyreveal the general nature of the invention that others can, by applyingknowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt forvarious applications such specific embodiments, without undueexperimentation, without departing from the general concept of thepresent invention. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications areintended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of thedisclosed embodiments, based on the teaching and guidance presentedherein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminologyherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, suchthat the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is tobe interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings andguidance.

The Summary and Abstract sections may set forth one or more but not allexemplary embodiments of the present invention as contemplated by theinventor(s), and thus, are not intended to limit the present inventionand the appended claims in any way.

The breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited byany of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be definedonly in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for tracking content across the Internet, comprising: (a) configuring the content to include a unique content identifier at a content source; and (b) sending the content from the content source to a content aggregation system, wherein the content aggregation system aggregates and tracks, using the unique content identifier, content across a plurality of content sources, and wherein the content aggregation system determines, based on the unique content identifier, the amount of time between the content appearing in an original content source and being republished by the plurality of content sources.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique content identifier is included in a metadata associated with the content.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: (c) receiving content including the unique content identifier; (d) republishing the content, wherein the unique content identifier remains constant during a lifetime of the content; and (e) sending the republished content to the content aggregation system.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the content aggregation system determines, based on the unique content identifier, at least one key word that increases the viewership of the content.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the content aggregation system determines, based on the unique content identifier, a number of content sources that republished the content.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the content aggregation system determines, based on the unique content identifier, if an external event influenced the popularity of the content.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the content aggregation system determines, based on the unique content identifier, popularity of the content in a geographic area.
 8. A system for tracking content across the Internet, comprising: a content source configured to: (a) configure the content to include a unique content identifier; and (b) send the content to a content aggregation system, wherein the content aggregation system aggregates and tracks, using the unique content identifier, content across a plurality of content sources, and wherein the content aggregation system determines, based on the unique content identifier, the amount of time between the content appearing in an original content source and being republished by the plurality of content sources.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the unique content identifier is included in a metadata associated with the content.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of content sources are further configured to: (c) receive content including the unique content identifier; (d) republish the content, wherein the unique content identifier remains constant during a lifetime of the content; and (e) send the republished content to the content aggregation system.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein the content aggregation system determines, based on the unique content identifier, at least one key word that increases the viewership of the content.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein the content aggregation system determines, based on the unique content identifier, a number of content sources that republished the content.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein the content aggregation system determines, based on the unique content identifier, if an external event influenced the popularity of the content.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein the content aggregation system determines, based on the unique content identifier, popularity of the content in a geographic area.
 15. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a computing device, cause said computing device to perform operations for tracking content across the Internet, comprising: (a) configuring the content to include a unique content identifier at a content source; and (b) sending the content from the content source to a content aggregation system, wherein the content aggregation system aggregates and tracks, using the unique content identifier, content across a plurality of content sources, wherein the content aggregation system determines, based on the unique content identifier, the amount of time between the content appearing in an original content source and being republished by the plurality of content sources.
 16. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the unique content identifier is included in a metadata associated with the content.
 17. The article of manufacture of claim 15, further comprising: (c) receiving content including the unique content identifier; (d) republishing the content using multiple content sources wherein the unique content identifier remains constant during a lifetime of the content; and (e) sending the republished content to the content aggregation system. 